Game: Mushihimesama Platform: Sony Playstation 2, Arcade Developer: Cave Publisher: Taito Author: Slateman (slateman@godflesh.com) Version: 1.1 Date: 20 September, 2005 = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = INTRO / OVERVIEW = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Mushihimesama was released in Japanese arcades in 2004 and was ported to the PS2 by Taito for release in 2005. This game is just about what you would expect from a vertical Cave shmup and is a good installment into their long-running shooter line of games. In fact, the game feels very familiar to the entire Cave catalog. This isn't a fault IMO, but it doesn't really have any one thing that makes it stand out above the rest. The inclusion of 3 Arcade modes and an Arrange mode give it added depth and replayability. After such marvelous ports of DoDon Pachi: Dai-Ou-Jou and ESP Galuda by Arika, I feel this doesn't quite live up in terms of options and features. However, the gameplay, music and overall feel is solid and this makes for a very enjoyable gaming experience. Version Info ------------ 1.1 Counter, Banking, Scoring information. 1.0 Initial Release. ====================================================================== = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = CONTROLS = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = X Normal Attack (hold for laser) Circle Bomb R1 Rapid Attack Square Switch between Modes (Arrange Mode Only) Additional Controls can be configured in the Options Menu. This includes a rapid-fire option for both your laser and regular shot. These will affect your Counter Banking (see below). = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Power-Ups = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = There are 4 different pick-ups found in the game. These are as follows: - Mode Pickup - Option Pickup - Bomb - Extra Life The latter 2 are self-explanatory. The 1-Up is inly available at the end of level 3. Destroy the 8 arms of the large 'creature' just before the boss. After the arms, then destroy the center to reveal the 1-Up. The other 2 require some explanation. There are 3 modes in Mushihimesama with a pair of options. ------------ Mode Pickups ------------ Unlike other Cave games, you have only one ship to fly Reko through, but there are 3 different mode power-ups which affect you. Similar to their other titles however is the importance of speed and shot attributes. I've always had better luck with faster ships, so I steer clear of W-Mode entirely. Other gamers may appreciate the wider shot though, so the decision is based on how you play. Speed Attack ----- ------ M-Mode (green) Medium Medium W-Mode (red) slow Wide S-Mode (blue) Fast Narrow You will have the option to switch modes while playing, however it's important to choose your preference at the start of the game. Each Mode and Option Icon that floats on the screen will be accompanied by a timer bar. After several seconds, the timer will run out thereby changing the kind of icon it is. In this case, the icon will cycle through all 3 kinds of modes. If by default you choose S-Mode, you can change to the other 2 whenever you pick up an icon, by allowing it to change colors. Upon dying though, your character will revert back to the default mode you chose before starting. For this reason, it is good to choose your mode carefully, and not rely on swapping power-ups. ...Unless you are a truly skilled player who rarely dies, that is! -------------- Option Pickups -------------- Options are helper ships that form next to your character. You can hold up to 4 of these in Arcade Mode, 6 in Arrange. These options will follow Reko as you navigate through the game and come in 2 forms, Trace and Formation. Much like the Mode Icons listed above, these have a timer on them and will change attributes if you wait long enough. If you currently have Trace Options, you can switch to Formation by allowing the icon enough time to switch over. Beside each Options detail below is a description of what each icon looks like. By holding down the fire button, your options will form around you to produce a more centralized, stronger attack. While in rapid-fire mode (either tapping the X button or holding down R1), they will return to your sides. How they act while firing in this manner is described below. Trace Option (ship with small circles near it) ------------ Each option you receive in this form will have a smaller ship follow you completely. These ships will be your shadow, if you move, they move, if you stop, they stop, if you go around in circles, they too will go around in circles. This option is good as you can position yourself under an enemy and move slightly out of the way of the bullets while allowing the option ship to shoot where you were before. Formation Option (ship with arrows pointing up to its left and right) ---------------- In formation your options will align themselves next to you, spread out. Your option ships will form to your left and right. This allows for a much wider range of firing and is good to clear out enemies across the screen. It is harder to centralize an attack, though, and as usual, for a Cave shooter, defeating enemies quickly isn't always the best route to racking up points. Once again, you can change options when an icon appears. Be wary though! After dying, your option icons float around. These will disappear if you don't collect them immediately though. If you're in one mode and want to switch, now is not the time! Pick them up before they disappear and wait for the next power-up icon to appear before switching. = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Arcade Mode = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = There are 2 different modes in Mushihimesama, Arcade and Arrange. In here, there are 2 different types of gameplay, Normal Arcade and Maniac/Ultra Arcade & Arrange. The difference between these game modes is the manner in which scoring works. More on that in the Scoring section below. All 3 modes are essentially the same, just with a ramped up difficulty and a whole lot more bullets. The Maniac and Ultra modes add a counter to the upper-left hand portion of the screen, but the gameplay itself remains. Kill Everything, Don't Die. Otherwise, these modes are identical in all other ways. = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Arrange Mode = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Taking the scoring changes from the Maniac and Ultra modes (again, detailed below), the Arrange mode spices things up a bit more by changing enemy bullet patterns as well as some other minor tweaks. The main differences are as follows: a) Start with 6 options (max 4 in Arcade) b) Switch between Modes (M/W/S) by pressing Square c) Reko throws bombs if hit This mode starts you out with 6 options, 2 more than you can get in the Arcade Mode. Your ship firing level begins at normal though. By pressing the Square button, you can change between M/W/S Modes. This can be useful if you want to change to a wider shot at any given time or switch to a faster ship. Here, Reko will automatically throw a bomb if you are hit. With 3 bombs and 3 lives, you've essentially got 9 lives to start with. Getting bomb pick-ups is essentially the same as 1-Ups. The added benefit is that you can have this auto life saver and still get the No Miss bonus at the end of a level. = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Scoring = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = This is the big one, and it's not quite as simple as I had originally thought. In the Original Arcade mode, things are fairly basic. Kill everything. There is some banking from what I've read, but overall, there isn't much to it. Maniac, Ultra and Arrange modes are significantly different, and here's where we shall begin. The Parent Counter ------------------ In each of these modes, a counter is present in the upper left-hand portion of the screen. Very loosely similar to the system in DoDon Pachi, this counter goes up when you are killing or keeping your shots on enemies. Once you stop destroying enemies or hitting your foes with your laser, your counter decreases. Using a bomb will cause you to stop firing, and here too, your counter goes down. Unlike DDP though, the counter won't automatically hit zero. It just goes down for a set amount of time. The main point here is that you should be causing devastation at all times. This will require you to time things, shoot less often and think ahead. You want your counter to continually increase. Scoring is based on this number, according to Icarus, (Base Point Value) x (Parent Counter) = Points Given i.e. 50 x 125,000 = 6,250,000 points He goes on to state, "Gems are also affected by this multiplier equation, and it is from gems that a large bulk of your in-stage points will come from." The Child Counter ----------------- In addition to your regular counter, many of the larger foes will have more than one number listed on them. These have been dubbed 'Child Counters' (as opposed to a 'Parent Counter') by Icarus and the folks in the shmups forums (see link below). As you keep your shot on an enemy, both their parent and child counters will go up. Higher numbers = more points. This leads us to banking. Counter Banking --------------- This is an interesting addition, and can result in many more points. It is also slightly confusing. You can find all of Icarus' thoughts on the topic at the link below: http://forum.shmups.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4049 The concept here is that you can add your child counter totals to your parent counter. This is achieved by stopping your attack for a brief moment. This will cause your combo meter to turn red (decrease) for a short time. However, upon firing again, your parent counter will increase at a higher rate than if you hadn't stopped. This is a *very* basic overview of how banking works, and I would suggest you take a peek at the above link if you care to get deeper. it's a strange system, but for those interested in serious points would do themselves a favor by reading up! Gems ---- There are 2 different types of gems, coming in large and small sizes. These give points when you collect them and also at the end of the level. As described above, the number of gems you receive is dictated by your current combo. The scoring of gems goes as follows: Diamond (sm) 100 Diamond (l) 1,000 Hexagon (sm) 825 Hexagon (l) 2,000 = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = HUD = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = In other games this requires explanation but in Mushihimesama it's pretty basic. In any event, here's a quick rundown of the HUD and its contents. At the top left is Player 1's score, the middle is the high score and the top right contains P2's score. Below the High Score is the mode you're playing, in Katakana. I suppose you may need a reminder that you're in Maniac mode? If you are facing a boss or mid-boss, a lifebar will appear under the mode description. This meter will also appear on the bottom of the screen, moving your bomb total lower. There are small yellow icons indicating how many lives you have. I believe these are small picturess of Kiniro. If you are playing in another mode, you will have a counter appearing below your life icons. Finally, at the bottom is a listing of your bombs, as mentioned before. You can hold up to 6 of these. = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = CREDITS = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = Please note the 2 following forums. Filled with knowledgeable shmuppers, some info was taken from postings here. Icarus (for most Counter & Banking information) http://www.featheredwings.net Shmups Forum http://forum.shmups.com/forum/ Click-Stick Forum http://click-stick.com/bbs/ = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = LEGAL STUFF = - - = - - - == - - - = - - = This FAQ is copyright (c) 2005, Trevor Esposito (slateman@godflesh.com) Mushihimesama is copyright (c) 2004-2005, Cave Mushihimesama is a trademark of Cave. You may not distribute this for profit. You may not edit or alter the contents herein without the permission of the author. The most current version of this FAQ can always be found at the following address: http://www.slateman.net/faqs/ Hope the FAQ was useful in some form. Good luck and have fun! ----------------------------------------------------------------------